I was a teenager once...

Teenage is an exciting phase of life. As you gear up to meet a new world, nothing can challenge the confidence, the enthusiasm and the spirit. This is where you decide for yourself, what is right and what is not. You have that liberty, but sometimes maybe not just yet.

Your hormones are going crazy. They cant understand why they are acting that way, but in the process, whats taking form is a rebel. A restless youth with incessant energy, loads of kewl attitude who thinks he is on top of the world. All those raging hormones rarely think about the consequences of their actions.

Home is no place for such attitude show-off. But the rebel does not want to be succumbed anywhere and what follows is a bitter argument full of disrespect for elders. A teenager may not look at things with the same perspective as his parents and may completely overlook a valid rationale for some things and actions.

I was a teenager once. What I say has happened to me at some time or other. Years have gone by and now I find myself doing some curious retrospection.

All that show of kewl attitude is good enough for bragging in front of college crowd, but I learnt that it does not help if you are at a job. The world beyond teenage will take no time to humble you. It will crush you if you resist. The i-know-all or i-know-better attitude blocks the ability and willingness to learn anything new. Arrogance can prove hazardous for a career in making.

Also have I long forgotten those bitter arguments with parents, albeit just because of a difference in opinion. Over the period a sense of responsibility sinks in and I realised that there is no better friend than your father and no better listener than your mother. The support you can expect from your own family is far stronger and reliable than those teenage friends you once had. The rebel soon gives way to realization of unending love, support and caring.

Teenage is that phase of life where you try to find your identity as an individual. Find where you stand in this world. But this cannot be at the cost of where you come from. The new you will always find its roots where it came from and that is why parents have to be given due respect and attention. Respect your roots as they are strong foundation for the future. If at any point, you think you cannot handle the challenges of this world, just turn to your roots and find shelter. No place can be more comforting.

I have lived through and realized all this. That rebel needs to be heard, those hormones will surge but take care not to damage the shelter you are fortunate to have. Couple years down the line, as you look back, hope what you see is a confident, strong-willed, dependable you in the making and not the dishevelled, broken strings of relations gone bad and repent as it is too late to make things right.